Ukraine peace talks: Putin, Zelenskyy to meet face- to- face

A potential breakthrough has been reached in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, with US President Donald Trump and European leaders suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a peace deal.

Although Moscow has not confirmed the meeting, the development comes after a day of intense diplomacy at the White House.

Trump revealed that he had spoken with Putin and begun arranging a meeting between the two leaders, stating, “at the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appeared to confirm the meeting, with Merz saying, “the American president spoke with the Russian president on the phone and agreed that there would be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks.”

However, Merz cautioned that it was unclear whether Putin would attend the summit, adding, “we don’t know whether the Russian president will have the courage to attend such a summit. Therefore, persuasion is needed.”

Putin, for his part, said he was open to the “idea” of direct talks with Ukraine, but there was no confirmation that the meeting would take place.

During the talks, Trump and European leaders discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, with Zelenskyy saying that his country has offered to buy $90 billion worth of US weapons as part of the security guarantee.

Trump stated that the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s safety, but made it clear that European countries would be expected to carry the burden, saying, “they are a first line of defence because they’re there. But we’ll help them out.”

The issue of a ceasefire was also discussed, with some European allies pushing for an immediate halt to the fighting. Merz insisted that “we would all like to see a ceasefire” and that he could not imagine the next meeting taking place without one.

Macron also backed the idea of a “truce” as a “necessity”. However, Trump remained unmoved, suggesting that a ceasefire would be left to Zelenskyy and Putin to decide.

The potential meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy comes after Trump met with European leaders, including the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union, and NATO.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that there had been discussion of security guarantees and “which guarantees would be provided by the European countries, with a coordination with the United States of America”.

Zelenskyy outlined what he said his country needed to feel secure, including a “strong Ukrainian army” through weapons sales and training. The Ukrainian president also gave Trump effusive thanks for the invitation and the pair even shared good-humored banter during the meeting.

As the situation continues to unfold, the international community will be watching closely to see if the proposed meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy will take place and what the outcome might be.